


You're Fire Red In The Midst Of The Gold And Silver

by jewelvox



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)
Genre: :), Alternate Universe - Pokemon Fusion, F/F, also unsatisfying ending because I hate y'all, but like friendship, minor nicoeli
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-11-22 16:32:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11384058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jewelvox/pseuds/jewelvox
Summary: Nozomi doesn't like battling with Pokemon. She never did, that's what she believed.





	You're Fire Red In The Midst Of The Gold And Silver

Nozomi had a friend.

A: Singular.

Had: Past tense.

 

She had always lived in New Bark Town, where the air was fresh and untainted by city smog and Pokemon were abound the forests. So much so, that the entrance was blocked with wild, tall grass: the home to many Pokemon. No one could get out without a Pokemon. Not like Nozomi minded. She enjoyed the quaint village. Sure, she had no family, and maybe she didn’t have a house either. Maybe the other kids didn’t play with her because she was ‘a weirdo with no parents,’ or they were too engrossed with being the Johto Champion. She liked it there, she really did. She was satisfied.

 

Then she met Eli.

 

It was a pure chance meeting. Nozomi was playing around in the sea next to town. She didn’t know where it went, but she heard some of the adults say it led to the other region. But then she saw. The blond girl that stared at the edge of the water. Quiet. Hopeful. Almost wistful, as if wanting something more. Nozomi didn’t know much about the other side, but she knew that very strong trainers only came from that way, from what she could see of their battles.

 

“Hey, what are you doing? Don’t you know that only strong trainers go there? Or, are you a strong trainer?” The blond girl glanced up, but didn’t say a word. Silent. Possibly brooding. _Maybe she’s mute. Or deaf. Or stupid._ Nozomi mused. Glancing around her, Nozomi spotted the New Bark Kinder’s Hoot Hoot staring at her with a perplexed, ‘oh god no’ expression. “Hi Hooty. I just need you to deliver a piece of paper for me, please?” It seemed as if the Hoot Hoot huffed at her, as if it knew this wouldn’t be the only paper it would deliver for many months to come.

 

And it was right. Everyday they would meet at exactly 2:00 and talk through paper till the sun went down. Then the girl would leave.

 

The months passed by, and soon it was June. Nozomi anticipated telling her blond friend that her birthday was coming, though she doubted the other would react. The other didn’t really react much. Only giving short replies to Nozomi’s drawn-out stories. Though, Nozomi still appreciated it. The only other kid in New Bark Town was this loud obnoxious, way-too loud and friendly boy who carried around a Marill. The rest of them had gone off to take on the gym challenge, leaving their parents worried for their safety. (If I had parents, Nozomi thought in disdain, I wouldn’t leave them to be worried to death about me. Trainers can only think of themselves, can’t they.) Eli was less overbearing. She seemed kind, always being there at the same time as Nozomi, despite the fact that they were in different entire regions with the Kanto Sea in the middle of them. It was such a wonder to Nozomi that they managed to be friends that she completely forgot the fact that Eli never in fact told her the reason why she was at a dead-end route in the first place.

 

‘What do you want to be when you grow up? I was thinking to ask the Professor to teach me about Pokemon breeding. Baby Pokemon are so cute!’

 

Nozomi wrote. She saw Eli’s bemused expression even from a ways away.

 

‘Pokemon trainer. Travel the region with my Pokemon.’

 

Nozomi frowned. She didn’t really have a positive image of Pokemon trainers, but Eli really seemed to want to be a Pokemon trainer. Whenever they were on the topic, her writing seemed to be more cheerful, going into semi-long stories about fighting evil groups of people, saving lives and chasing legendaries, just from being a trainer. Nozomi thought it was odd. Aren’t trainers just people who battle against each other? Why did Eli’s stories sound much more invigorating than just battles?

 

‘Well, if you want to, it sounds cool. Wouldn’t you have to shout the moves of your Pokemon though? No offense, but it seems like you don’t do the whole talking thing.’

 

Eli smiled.

 

‘If you and your Pokemon are close enough, there’s no need for words.’

 

Nozomi noticed that when Eli talked about Pokemon, she seemed to glow. Although it was hard to see her from the distance she was at, Nozomi could just...tell. Eli said her eyes were blue, but when she talked about Pokemon, she seemed like a different entire color.

 

Nozomi thought she wasn’t blue, like her eye color.

Nozomi thought Eli was a passionate red.

 

Nozomi couldn’t see from where she was, but Eli’s demeanor changed. She became sad as she watched Nozomi leave for the day. The Hoot Hoot was still at her side, and she beckoned at it for one last note.

 

Nozomi went the next day, hopping up and down in excitement. It was her birthday that day, and she couldn’t wait to tell Eli what she was planning to do. Nozomi was going to get a Pokemon. Maybe not battle with it of course, but she could imagine Eli coaching her on what to do and how to train. Maybe Nozomi would get a water-type, so she could surf across the sea and meet Eli in person.

 

She went to the sea’s edge at 2:00. Nozomi waited for an hour.

 

Eli never came that day. Or the day after. Or the day after that.

 

Nozomi had a friend. A friend like no other. Someone that became so quickly a part of her life that she couldn’t imagine her life without them.

\-----

It was hard to explain why she wanted to leave to Professor Elm. He had no Pokemon to give her, as the last generation to take on the gyms had come and gone many months before. He had a Vulpix he could loan her if she wanted to catch anything though. She accepted it graciously, promising him to return when she beat the Elite Four. Professor Elm watched her go deep into the forests, smiling. It was an empty promise. Though Nozomi was quick-witted and a good girl, he knew she didn’t dream of being a Pokemon trainer, like many who have tried and failed.  He was extremely surprised when she even asked him for a Pokemon. Elm watched her grow up with the last generation, so he was shocked to see she suddenly gained interest in battle when she never did in her childhood. She never really gained an interest in anything, in fact. But still, he was not one to give up on a child, so he might as well place some hope in her that she might be the next Champion.

 

To some degree, Professor Elm was right. Nozomi wasn’t interested in battling and taking on Gyms. Never was, never will. But she needed to, **had to** , get out of New Bark. Collecting the papers Eli sent her during their friendship, she realized that she never really knew much about the outside world. She had always stayed in New Bark by herself; her parents were Pokemon trainers and never came home much after she turned old enough to fend for herself.

 

(Perhaps that’s why she never wanted to be a Pokemon trainer)

In every paper Eli sent to her, she always seemed to have a bigger dream. Even with short sentences.

_I want to see all of Kanto_

_Have pokemon friends, battle_

_LIve life to the fullest_

The last one hit hard. Staying there in New Bark, what would she achieve? The other kids who wanted to be trainers and only reaching the 2nd gym before they gave up their dreams, what would they achieve? Forever being training fodder for trainers who had the strength to go further? And even then, what would they achieve? At the end, what point was there to all of their work? When they realize their dream was finished? Therefore, Nozomi would be neither. She wouldn’t, she didn’t, have the dream of taking on gyms. But she wouldn’t stay in New Bark to get married to some person, have kids and watch them lead uneventful lives like her? No.

 

Which brings back up Elm’s thoughts. Nozomi did have things that interested her. Which was the reason she lurked deep in the woods deep in the midst of night, waiting for the right Pokemon to come out. Nozomi strongly respected spiritual Pokemon. Fire, water, flying, steel, normal, dragon. Those were types easy to understand, They were solid on this realm. Ghost, psychic, dark. Those were harder to grasp. They were mysterious, and used their other world powers to communicate. They were strange, and seemed to have to place; no real home.

 

Like her.

 

This wasn’t about Nozomi though. This is about starting her Pokemon journey with the perfect partner. “I can do this. I can do this. I can do this!” She exclaimed to herself to feel less lonely. “Okay, let’s see. There’s probably a Gastly around here somewhere that I can use.”  Nozomi pushed away her sadness for a more positive aura. Suddenly, she heard a quiet Pokemon cry behind her.

 

“Ra...lts?”

 

Nozomi returned to Professor Elm’s hand to return the Vulpix, a newly captured Ralts trailing behind.

\----------------

“Kirlia, aren’t you freezing?” Nozomi shuddered. It was the dead of winter, and since there were no cities around, Nozomi and her team were forced to camp for the night. Nozomi had just beaten the Flying-type gym leader Falkner back in Violet CIty (how she did though was another story in itself, as she had only a confusion-double team Ralts and a newly captured Horsea, especially with that obnoxious Roost-spamming Pidgeotto) and was currently tromping through the darkness that was Ilex Forest. “We should probably search for a new team mate, dot’cha think…” She said, not to anyone particularly, but more to herself. A sudden cold breeze blew past her, and she shivered. _This is a pretty enclosed forest, why would there be a breeze? In fact, why is it so cold?_ Nozomi thought faintly. They were nowhere near the Ice Caverns; it was on the other side of the region. Yawning, Nozomi felt her eyes flutter. Strange, it wasn’t even that late, why was she so sleepy? Beckoning her Pokemon back into their balls, she curled into her sleeping bag as a strange purple gas started to envelop her…

 

_Gastly, the Gas Pokemon! Its thin body is made up of gas. Despite lacking substance, it can envelop an opponent of any size and cause suffocation. However, it is easily blown away by the wind._

 

Nozomi’s Pokedex happily chirped the information of her newly caught companion. She smirked. “Well, that wind sure did come in handy. Thought you could fool me hmm?” Nozomi became silent once again. “Well, time to train my new Pokemon I guess.”

 

They arrived in Azalea Town the morning. It was a small town compared to Goldenrod, similar to New Bark, but with an odd fascination with Slowpokes.  It was upon further realization of this was because of the revival of Team Rocket, which Nozomi didn’t even realized happened. She had heard long ago when she was young that Team Rocket rose in Kanto but was soon squashed by a powerful trainer. She didn’t know that they had come back again. Once she heard from the villagers about their terrible acts, Nozomi gritted her teeth. _Not on my goddamn watch._

 

Nozomi swept through the grunts down in Slowpoke Well, her Kirlia and Haunter taking down the easy Zubat fodder that the grunts sent her way, and she was soon at the head Admin.

 

KO-ing the Admin’s last Pokemon and causing Team Rocket to scram, tails between their legs. Nozomi was sure she wouldn’t have to worry about it for longer.

 

After defeating team Rocket, she met Kurt, a Pokeball Maker, who agreed to make her apricorns into pokeballs after she read his fortune. He was even more impressed after he found out she was the one who chased Team Rocket out of Azalea Town. Sighing softly after the day’s adventure, Nozomi began to set up in the Pokemon Center’s extra rooms for traveling trainers. She produced a small note that was framed, and put it by her bedside. It was the last note Eli ever wrote to her. Nozomi had left early the last time she saw Eli, and Eli’s last note came the morning after, before Nozomi even realized Eli wasn’t coming back.

 

‘Goodbye, Nozomi.”

 

It was weird, and how she didn’t notice it was a complete miss on her part. Eli never said goodbye, She would wave and slowly become a small dot among the blue sea. Eli might say, ‘See you tomorrow,’ or ‘Later,’ but not goodbye. Never goodbye. It was kind of sadistic in a sense, having your only friend leave without a word on your birthday. Eli probably didn’t mean for it to be like that, Nozomi mused (Ha.), eyes drifting thoughtlessly towards her team of three. _Ah, that’s right. Eli’s the reason I’m on this trip in the first place. I suppose I have to thank her for inspiring me to leave, once I see her._  It brought Nozomi to the underlying question: Was her journey really about Eli?

 

Well, not tonight. She had seven more badges to figure it out.

\-----------------

Nozomi arrived at Goldenrod, her Haunter currently trailing behind her. It was...odd. She expected the big city to be more crowded. Instead, it was quiet. Almost as if the city was under some sort of spell. Confused, Nozomi walked into the Pokemon Center, and gasped at what she saw. Everyone was asleep. The nurse, the trainers, even the Chansey was a goner. _This is definitely the work of Team Rocket,_ Nozomi cursed underneath her breath. Running out of the center, she looked around, trying to find where the source was. _Think Nozomi, where would the source of it be?_ Nozomi looked around the city, racing into people’s houses. She noticed that they all had their radio on. “The Radio Tower!” She exclaimed.

 

Once there, she knew it was the right place with the Rocket Grunts being there as soon as she entered. “What the- why aren’t you asleep?!” Nozomi grinned, gesturing to her Haunter. “All thanks to this little buddy. Has a hidden ability of Insomnia. Apparently rubs off. But enough of the small talk.” Nozomi smirked. “Let’s fight.”

 

Nozomi thought she didn’t like battling, at first. She didn’t see the point. Was it even fun for the Pokemon? Nozomi thought it was only a nuisance. However, seeing it now, it was truly an enjoyable thing. She wonders what else she had been missing out on before this entire ordeal took place. _Battle now, think later._ Nozomi scolded herself as her Haunter shadow punched its last foe. “Where’s  your leader?” Nozomi demanded. Her Haunter stood beside her, looking terrifying as it grinned down at the poor Team Rocket member. He shivered in his boots. “T-they’re on the top floor. But you can’t go in there, you need a card.” Irritated, Nozomi stalked off to the next level, picking off grunts until the admin decided to show their face. Who needed a card when you had Pokemon?

 

“Are you the new kid meddling with us? It’s been, like five years why won’t anyone give us a goddamn break.” The admin said dramatically, putting her hand over her forehead, as if distressed. “We just want to steal people’s Pokemon in peace.” Nozomi ignored the admin, opting to check on her Pokemon, and grimacing when she saw the state of them. “You will never get away with it. Not now, not ever. Pokemon aren’t just creatures you use for your bidding.” Nozomi took out her Gallade. “Most importantly, _I_ won’t let you get away with it. Let’s fight.”

 

It was the first time Nozomi had ever lost. When the Admin’s Crobat took down her Seadra, all she could see was white. The Admin laughed and kicked her out of the Radio Tower, and she blindly stumbled her way into the Pokemon Center. Nozomi….lost? She didn’t lose though, she never lost. Gulping as Nurse Joy healed up her Pokemon. She went back to Radio Tower, but her steps faltered and confidence shaken. She burst into the CEO’s door though, as she once again challenged the Admin. But she wasn’t there. Confused, she went back out to ask one of the radio heads. “It was insane,” they said, “a girl with blonde hair and icy blue eyes came and wiped the floor with Team Rocket. You should have seen it.” Nozomi gasped audibly. Eli. She was there. Nozomi raced out of the building, only to look up and see a Charizard far in the distance.

 

She had lost her again.

\-------------

Three badges later, Nozomi still had yet to find an answer to why Eli came and left so quickly. BUt it wasn’t important as of then, since Nozomi was battling a trainer at the moment.  Battling was fun; she’ll admit that. The thrill and adrenaline rush of the battle, and the high you get when winning was starting to grow on Nozomi. However, she couldn’t like it. Why? She didn’t know. It was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind, saying it was wrong of her to like battling so much. Besides, it was only a temporary thing. Everything comes and goes soon enough. Good things, bad things, Eli...

_Alright, time to think about something else._

 ----------

Nozomi stretched her legs and jumped off the bed she was napping on. Packing all her items into her seemingly never-ending bag, she set off for Olivine. “It’s a nice day, I might as well let my Pokemon walk around too.” She released them out of their Pokeballs. “Gallade, can you make sure Kingdra and Electabuzz don’t run off. Gengar, don’t go scaring any people this time or you’re going back into your Pokeball. Snorunt, just stay by my side if you’re not comfortable with their antics.” Her eyebrows scrunched with worry. Nozomi decided to explore Goldenrod’s pride and joy, the department store, first. Many trainers from the other regions came to see the big city, and Hoenn was no exception. There, she found a terrified Snorunt with a neglectful trainer spending their money on the clothes they sold there, when anyone could tell the Snorunt was obviously sick and in need of medicine. Needless to say, Nozomi gave the trainer a run for his money and forced him to hand over his poor Snorunt. Her (once Elekid, now) Electabuzz was found abandoned at the Burnt Tower in Ecruteak because of its stubborn nature, which Nozomi found endearing. A band of misfits, they were, but they were family.

 

“Honey, did you feel a chill just now?” A passerby said to her companion.

“Yeah...did your shadow just move?” The girl said back, holding the other to her chest. Shrieks emerged when they saw the glare of a Gengar.

 

Nozomi sighed. Her Gengar had too much freedom.

\----------

“Team Rocket-”

“Will never die, yeah yeah blah blah.” Nozomi waved her head in a dismissing motion. They had stolen the electricity of Blackthorn City, and Nozomi was at the Power Plant dueling it out. She had encountered Team Rocket plenty of times after her first loss. She was closer and more in touch with her Pokemon now, and at this point she was ready to stop Team Rocket for good. And she had a plan for it. She sent out her Gengar, who was ready to kill someone, stretching its mouth into a wide Cheshire grin. “My Gengar here will show you something you’ll never forget. Maybe you’ll rethink your decisions of creating a terrorist gang, which only hurts others, Mr. Giovanni.”  

 

Team Rocket disbanded again that day.

\--------

It was her birthday when she stumbled across Victory Road with her party of 5. How grand, to spend your 15th birthday battling it out with the strongest of trainers. But it was the day. The day she never saw Eli again. And on that day, her 15th birthday, before she even stepped foot onto Victory Road, she felt what it was like to be on the opposite of the Kanto Sea, facing what she could barely see was New Bark Town. It was a remote place. Nozomi couldn’t imagine why Eli would be there in the first place. Especially with all the high level trainers she had to pass to get here. It made her wonder who Eli was actually. She really didn’t know anything about the mysterious blue-eyed girl that made such a huge difference in her life.

 

She couldn’t be too focused on it though. After all, she had to beat the Elite Four now. Nozomi had come so far from the girl that she used to be. If she saw herself where she was now, from all those years ago, she never would have believed it. She still couldn’t believe it. The trainers were really no match for her. They were all so eager, so hopeful, and to be cut down by a odd-purple haired girl was probably soul-crushing. For a split second, as she exited Victory Road, she wondered what it would be like to be so immersed in the idea, the art, of battling, that every day you wait for a new opponent to come and crush you. Nozomi wondered if Eli maybe felt like that before she met Nozomi. Just another trainer making their way through the ranks. Eli always said she wanted to travel the world with her Pokemon. That got Nozomi thinking. She had no idea if Eli had Pokemon, did she? Maye the Champion, whoever they were, would know.

Nozomi entered the first room of the Elite Four.

“Let’s do this. Gallade, come on out.”

“Alright. Natu, let’s go.”

\------------

Despite disadvantages of typing at the beginning, Nozomi sweeped Will with her Electivire and Froslass.She continued on to Bruce. Bruce was brawn over brains, strength over strategy. His team was made up of hard bulky hitters, but nothing her Gallade couldn’t beat. Koga came next. Again, not much of a problem with a psychic type. Karen was a little harder with her Dark-types, but Nozomi managed to chip off their health through their second typing. Finally, she entered the Champion’s room. The man on the throne rose up.

 

“Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve gotten a challenger. You must have been really dedicated.” Nozomi hummed, sending out Kingdra. “Not really. I’m just a simple girl on a mission.”

\--------

“Now, all you have to do is register your Pokemon into the Hall of Fame.” Lance said to her, but she was only half-listening. Nozomi was so, **_so_ ** proud of her Pokemon. It was a long two journey, and look where she was now. The Champion Hall of Fame. The record of every Champion that was, is, and will be. Oh, that’s right. Nozomi spun around. “Lance, do you know a girl named Eli?” Lance frowned. “No. Never heard of her. I’m sorry.” Nozomi frowned, biting her lip, eyes wandering across the gigantic hall. “I see. Thank you thou-” Her breath caught.

 

There, she stood face to face with a portrait of Eli, the caption below stating: _Blue, Kanto Champion._ “That’s her. That’s Eli.” She said grabbing his arm, formalities dropped with the former Johto champion. “What? That’s Blue. She used to be the Kanto Champion. She’s a legend in Kanto. Not only did she sweep the League in only a year, but she never said a single word while doing it.  And she obliterated the terrorist gang Team Rocket as a bonus.” Lance made a motion to the window, where Nozomi saw a huge mountain. “No one has seen Blue in three years. No one knows where she went, but some say she’s the only place fit for a legend such as herself: Mount SIlver.”

 

Nozomi’s pulse quickened. “I have to go there.” She started to break into a run and made it to the entrance of the Indigo Plateau when Lance finally caught up with her and caught her by the shoulder. “Sorry to break it to you, Ms Champion, but you’re not allowed to be in there. Only those who have all 18 badges of both Johto and the Kanto regions are allowed access.

 

Nozomi gave him a determined look. “Sign me up for the Kanto League.”

\-----

When Nozomi went to Pallet Town to meet up with Professor Oak, she hadn’t expected to meet Eli’s mom. Out of habit, she went through each of the houses, hoping they would give her an item or two. Instead, she saw a blonde woman sitting alone at her kitchen table.

 

“Ah, I wish Eli would call sometimes. I haven’t seen her in so long.” The woman sighed  to Nozomi. “Eli? You’re Eli’s mom?” Nozomi questioned. The woman perked up. “Eli?! You know her? No doubt, she would have made friends with the Johto Champion. How is she? Tell her to call me sometime, I haven’t seen her in years.” Nozomi shakes her head sadly. “I’m sorry, I haven’t seen her in years either.” Seeing the older woman’s shoulders sag, Nozomi felt a pang of sympathy. “Don’t worry. I’ll find her.”

 

When she finally went into Oak’s lab, the first thing she saw was Steven, the Hoenn Champion. He turned around, startled. He relaxed once he saw the Johto Champion. “Nozomi! Hello there. Are you also waiting for Oak?” Nozomi gave him a slight nod, confused as to why he isn’t back in Hoenn waiting for challengers. Then again, she’s taking on the Kanto Gym challenge, so she couldn’t really judge.

 

“Hey, do you happen to have a Forretress?” Steven asked suddenly. Nozomi cocked her head confused. “Yes… it’s in my PC though. Why do you ask?” Steven grinned. “I propose a trade for you…”

 

Nozomi held a newly born Beldum in her arms exiting the lab.

\-----

Nozomi snapped her wrist. She was waiting for the eighth gym leader of Kanto to be willing to take her gym battle. It had slightly longer to beat the Kanto League, around two-and-a-half compared to the two years spent in the Johto League. But Nozomi found that she didn’t mind now. The gyms she so avidly hated became something she looked forward to as she trained her Pokemon for the challenge. It was as if she had a change of heart, but Nozomi felt as if she changed perspectives at all. Rather, she opened up her eyes without the initial bias to see what it truly was.

 

Unlike every other leader, this particular one didn’t seem that friendly, and she had heard rumors of a brawny man that dominated the ground typage. Of course, she still had her Kingdra and Gallade to take care of his team, but it was still intimidating. But the intimidation was diminished as she had to camp at the gym for two straight days waiting because her request to battle was still ‘pending.’

 

_Nozomi, to the arena._

 

“Finally, it’s my turn.” Nozomi stood, wiping her heads on her skirt.

 

_Now introducing, the great, the POWERFUL, Yazawa Nico!_

 

Well, Nozomi was not prepared for this. Instead of the big bulky man she **thought** she was facing, Nozomi was fighting against a girl who couldn’t be older than herself, and at least a foot shorter. The ‘gym leader’ wore childish pigtails as a style choice for her black hair. She straightened up from her battle stance, confused. “Uh, is this….a joke?” The black haired gym leader gave her a distinct scowl from across the room. “Does it look like I’m joking? Don’t judge a book by its cover and come fight me, Tojo Nozomi.” Nozomi’s breath hitched. How does Nico know her last name? Nozomi never used her last name. Not for registering for the Gym Challenge, not for tournaments, and definitely never in introductions. It was always Nozomi. Just Nozomi. The only person she ever told her name to was-

 

“How do you know Eli?”

 

Nico smirked. “Beat me, and you’ll find out.”

\---------

“Wow, that was one of the best battles I’ve had in years.” Nico laid on the floor after her loss. Nozomi quirked an eyebrow at her. “How old are you again? Like, 10 right?” Nico sat up from those words and gave Nozomi a sharp glare. “I don’t think we’ve reached the level of friendship where you make fun of my height.” Nico gave a passing glance at Nozomi’s chest, causing Nico to fold her arms across her chest. “And...other places.” Nozomi didn’t seem to notice, her expression turned serious. “How did you know Eli?” Nico stands with the help of Nozomi’s hand, a sigh coming out of her mouth, eyes filled with nostalgia.

 

 

“It’s been so long since we started our journey.  We both were newly-turned 12 year olds in Pallet Town. I didn’t like Eli, during those times. We had seen each other all of our lives in that tiny town, but you couldn’t really call us childhood friends. In the most accurate terms, we were rivals.” Nico smiled to herself, thinking about how childish she was so long ago.

 

“Professor Oak had given her a starter first, so out of spite I picked the one strongest to her. But she always managed to beat me somehow.” Nico stared off into the distance, seeming to forget anyone was listening. And it was just her. Time going back to when Team Rocket reigned fear over Kanto, and she was only in her pre-teens battling side-by-side with Eli. A soft smile appeared on her face.

 

“Back then, it angered me. Now I’ve learned better. I’ll be the first to admit I didn’t really care about the wellfare of my Pokemon. As we both raced to be Champion, Eli, without ever speaking to me, taught me the value of caring.” By this point, Nico and Nozomi were out of the Gym, just staring at Viridian Forest. Nozomi felt a twinge of envy, being unable to be with Eli on her own journey, but Nozomi quickly pushed it down. It wasn’t her story, it was Nico’s and Eli’s. Besides, she doubted she would have gone on a Pokemon journey back then in the first place. She ushered NIco to continue on, quickly covering her expression, but Nico saw and chuckled.

 

“To relieve your worries, I was never in love with Eli. But after she beat me at the Indigo Plateau, after I began to see the entire world without my prideful nature, we were very close friends. Though, I never once heard her speak throughout the years I knew her. I always commented that it was like talking to a wall.” Nico looked at her Pokeballs, seeing her very first Pokemon tucked away at the very end of her belt. Nico didn’t speak for a long time. Nozomi thought Nico looked very mature at that moment, and for a second saw everything Nico had been through reflected in the other’s eyes.

 

It was Nico who broke the silence. Softly, she said,

 

“It’s been five years since she left without a trace. I haven’t heard from her ever since she became Champion, and then vanished off the face of the Earth. And everyone seemed to just...forget. They forgot about the girl who made a terrorist group disband for three years.”

 Nozomi looked at Nico, and saw the girk she was, and the woman she became in a split second. How, through Eli, she learned the value of something through the journey she had. It reminded Nozomi of herself. And that's when the realization struck her.

 

Nozomi started to cry. Nico looked back at the other girl in shock, wondering why she was crying.

 

“I’ve been an idiot throughout this whole journey.” The purple-haired girl said, wiping the tears out of her eyes. Nico was about to question why, when Nozomi spoke first.

 

“All this time, I thought I was trying to find Eli, as if it was my only reason for going on this trip.”

 

Nozomi took a deep breath, smile playing on her lips.

 

“In truth, it was about finding myself.”

\------------

“You know something, everyone who knew Eli always called her Blue, because of her striking eyes. But I could never call her that. I always thought it didn’t suit her.” Nozomi looked back at Nico, seeming to know what she was going to say next. Nico smiled back. “You think so too, right Nozomi? She’s a fire red, blazing and burning everything around her.”

\-----------

Nozomi reached the top of Mt. Silver, shivering at the temperature drop compared to the inside of the mountain. At the top of it all, stood Eli. After almost five years, she finally found her. But Nozomi smiled. Because after beating Nico, she knew that Eli wasn’t the true reason she went on her adventure. Her journey was never about finding Eli. Eli was the push to leave her little town when she never  thought she would. But then, defeating Team Rocket, taking on Gyms, becoming Champion, and meeting Nico. Those memories, things she would never forget, those were her **true** reason for having the journey. It was to finally let go of her broken childhood, one where she never had anyone that accepted her and finally open her arms out to the ones that do. Because of that revelation, Nozomi finally accepted her love of battling. Because it was never an issue of Nozomi having no interest in battling. It was that she blocked out her interest because of what happened to her. She had convinced herself that she did not like battling, feeling the rush of battle, when really she would not like battling, refusing to no matter how much it called for her, and no matter what pull she felt towards it with the lingering reminder that it was the reason why she never had parents. But it was okay now. She’s grown up. She’s accepted it. She may never see her parents, but she finally has her own family. Her little band of odd misfits, her wondrous team. She believed in them, and she trusted them.

 

Which was why she stood pointing at Eli, and challenged the Kanto Champion to a Pokemon battle.

 

Nozomi had a feeling that her journey was what Eli had wanted, even when they first met. Though there was so many things to ask, Nozomi knew her true answers lied in a battle. Besides, Nozomi had a feeling Eli wouldn’t answer her many questions. Eli was mysterious like that. Eli’s back was towards her, as the blonde girl faced the point where the two regions met. It was also where Nozomi --a girl from Johto-- and Eli --a girl from Kanto-- met. But Nozomi wasn’t just Nozomi anymore. She was Nozomi: Champion of Johto and the girl to stop Team Rocket for good. And Eli was never just Eli. She was Blue, the mysterious enigma that destroyed Team Rocket the first time, became Kanto Champion in less than a year, and wove her way into the sad, broken Nozomi’s heart. She was Red, full of passion and strength which Nozomi would soon see face to face. She was Nozomi’s first friend, and one that pushed her to be what she was today.

 

Eli turned around to face Nozomi.

 

Nozomi’s breath caught.

 

Eli was even more stunning up close, where Nozomi could see her icy blue eyes up close. But through the cold expression, she could see a warm red pride glowing in the back of her eyes.

 

Eli looked at Nozomi from the peak of the icy mountain. _You’ve grown,_ she seemed to say.  Nozomi gave a tentative smile back, and then retracted back into a neutral face for battle.

 

“Electivire, come on out.”

 

A battle between the strongest trainers across the two regions: The Kanto Champion and the newly crowned Johto Champion, battling where the two regions meet at the highest point: Mount SIlver. It was fitting. For something like this, they should be around thousands of people in the center of an arena, waiting to see who would be crowned the regional champion. But Nozomi preferred it like this. Only the icy cold wind was their audience, and the only sounds were both girl’s frosty breaths.

 

It was the quietest battle she ever had though. A long time ago, back when she was still facing the Johto Gym leaders, Nozomi realized that yelling out attacks to her Pokemon wasn’t the most efficient strategy. So, while her psychic Pokemon read her mind to figure out what she wanted them to do, the others followed her hand gestures.

But Eli was a whole different level. She never spoke a single word. It was if her Pokemon knew what Eli expected them to do, and carried it out. The bond between Eli and her Pokemon was insane.

 

TIme stretched as the two girls battled. Pretty soon, the battle was finished, hot breath mingling with the air in warm puffs. Nozomi collapsed onto the snow, spreading her arms and feeling the snow melt under her warm body.  “That was a good battle.” Nozomi turned to Eli, who looked down at her with a slight smiled on her face. Eli stretched out her hand to Nozomi, which she took gratefully.

 

“I guess...this is the end?” Nozomi muttered, wondering what to do next.

 

Eli shook her head.

 

She opened her mouth, and spoke.

**Author's Note:**

> This took too long it wasn't even that good. I wanted to get back to my roots and write about my beautiful lesbians but here you have 6k of minimal Nozoeli interactions lmao sorry whoops.
> 
> Side note would anyone be willing to read the prequel with Nicoeli friendship???


End file.
